Help creating a Numerian haunted forest

[Arutema]

So my PCs are headed to Numeria's Smokewood to assault the wizard's tower knows as the Choking Tower at the center as part of an Iron Gods campaign.

The wood is nearly 50 miles across and trackless according to Numeria, Land of Fallen Stars, so it will be a couple days travel in to reach the center.

The random encounter chart in the book is mostly the stuff you'd find in any forest.

I'm looking more for the sort of monsters that'd be drawn to or spring up in a smog-choked Numerian forest with a nanotechnology-obsessed wizard's factory-tower-lab as the center.

The PCs are a strong level 7 party that work well together and can easily take on lots of CR8 and CR9 foes.

What sort of encounters would you suggest for such a forest?

[master4sword]

If I remember right, Numeria has a lot of mutations due to the radiation and whatnot from the crashed ships that litter the landscape, so why not get both "classic forest monsters" AND "horrifying mutants" by hitting some of the creatures with the mutant (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/mutant-cr-1/) template? Anyone can find a dire bear in a forest, but a lame dire bear with three arms and fast healing might be a tad more memorable. Perhaps some of the wildlife has cybernetics from experiments performed by some of Xoud's former associates or something? Instead of just a treant, make it a treant driven mad with the technology embedded within (two implanted handaxes replace the slams, dealing the same damage but changing the crit range to 20/x3; metal strips embedded below its bark change the DR to 10/slashing and adamantine; drop Wisdom to 6 and remove the ability to animate trees; these changes probably result in either CR+0 or CR+1). Or pick your favorite swarm - he experiments with'em, so perhaps some of them have escaped in the meantime or were released or something.

[Biguds]

As I'd had DMed Iron Gods, First question os: Do they really need those encounters? They need the XP and treasure?
I'm asking this, because there is an open Path across the Forest, made by Giants, so, they can cross It realy fast and safe.

[Arutema]

As I'd had DMed Iron Gods, First question os: Do they really need those encounters? They need the XP and treasure?
I'm asking this, because there is an open Path across the Forest, made by Giants, so, they can cross It realy fast and safe.


Safe, except for the remaining giants, or course.


We're using story-based XP progression, but I want a change of pace from the usual high-tech dungeons of Iron Gods for a bit of forest exploration before we go into the tower proper.

I also like the idea of a cyborg treant.

I'm also thinking said encounters don't have to be combat or even hazards.


There is at least one friendly star monarch watching over the forest.

[Eldonauran]

You are going to have fun in the Tower. I'm running the same campaign but about a book ahead of you.


We're using story-based XP progression, but I want a change of pace from the usual high-tech dungeons of Iron Gods for a bit of forest exploration before we go into the tower proper.
I did this as well. With the level of tech the party has by now, regular encounters are not going to cut it. I gave most normal animals the advanced template and that seemed about right. Also, I had the Tower belching out smoke enough that when the wind shifted just right, it created visibility issues for the party, and caused issues with breathing. Enough to hamper them, but not severely cripple them. It did create minor penalties for laser based weaponry (-2 to hit, they were targeting touch anyway). My players literally turned the Giants on a certain creature at the end of their trail. They are very tactical.

I have playing:
a gnome arcanist (for all your arcane needs, has protector familiar, tech guru)
an android earth kineticist (w/ gunslinger dip) VMC wizard (basically for improved familiar and initiative bonus)
a half-elf slayer VMC Rogue (Trapfinder, Melee oriented but also awesome at range, TWF/rapid shot)
and a NPC half-elf cleric (Dinvaya from Scrapwall, healer, flanking assistant w/ summons, crafter). She often wonders why they keep her around. She's saved each of their lives at least once, but overall she contributes little in combat. Really likes her 1/2 of a share of the loot (she doesn't get a full share cause she charges PCs for crafted items 75% instead of full price. It evens out in the end).